Nigeria: Federal Executive Council Approves Copyright Bill

According to a press release signed one Amos Abutu for the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the Federal Executive Council in a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa Abuja has approved the Copyright Bill.

The approval was reportedly given on Thursday December 21, 2017 and was disclosed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) to State House correspondents at the end of the Council Meeting.

The Attorney General is reported to have explained that the ‘Copyright Bill’ was approved by the Council and that he had been instructed to send it to the National Assembly for consideration and passage into law and eventual assent by the President if passed.

The Minister noted that the Copyright Bill seeks to ensure the protection of creative works against piracy and protection of Intellectual property rights.

The approved Copyright Bill is a product of the on-going Reform of the Copyright System, launched in November 2012 initiated by the Director General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Mr. Afam Ezekude. According to the NCC, “the approval of the Copyright Bill by the Federal Executive Council is another milestone in the history of the Commission and the Commission looks forward to a speedy passage of the Bill by the National Assembly for eventual assent by the President to the benefit of the creative industries in Nigeria.

The Bill is aimed at repositioning Nigeria’s creative industries for greater growth; strengthen their capacity to compete more effectively in the global marketplace; and enable Nigeria to fully satisfy its obligations under the various International Copyright Instruments.

Bob is a Senior Editor and Content Development Manager at Nigerian Law Intellectual Property Watch. He holds a BS degree, with a major in biochemistry. He works directly with the Newsroom Team. His focus areas are technology and innovation, and pharmaceutical technology. Email: baroture@nlipw.com

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